1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to a headrest apparatus for a vehicle seat.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
A headrest apparatus for a vehicle seat is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model laid-open publication No. 3 (1991)-76734.
The headrest apparatus includes a holder, a stay, and a headrest body. The holder is mounted on the top portion of a seat-back. The stay has a pair of supporting portions. The supporting portions of the stay are slidably supported by the holder. The headrest body is attached to the stay. A plurality of notches are formed in one of the supporting portions of the stay. A slidable lock plate, mounted on the holder, engages and disengages the notches.
When the lock plate slides, the lock plate disengages from the notches. The headrest body moves downward, thus placing it in a stored position. However, in this case, the stored position corresponds to the uppermost portion of an adjusting area, which is defined by the plurality of notches. Therefore, when the headrest body is in the stored position, the headrest body stands out from the upper portion of the seat-back.
The projecting headrest may block the vision of the vehicle operator even though the headrest is in the stored position. This problem is more likely to occur if the headrest is mounted on a seat other than the operator's seat and is particularly likely to occur if the headrest apparatus is mounted on a seat behind the operator.
Further, many vehicles are now equipped with seats that fold into storage positions or seats that fold so that they may be moved within the vehicle or removed from the vehicle. For such seats, it is advantageous to have the headrest retract as far as possible so that the stored seat occupies the smallest possible volume.